Obama's Immigration Policy Fuels Children's Crusade

The U.S. border with Mexico is being crashed by a 21st century version of the medieval Children’s Crusade. Thousands of undocumented Central American children are crossing the border each day and turning the U.S. Border Patrol into a babysitting and child-caring organization.

Meanwhile, the drug smuggling and illegal aliens crossing the U.S.-Mexican border has risen 60 percent according to the Border Patrol agents.

Where is the president? More likely than not, he is flying on Air Force One to another fundraiser. Thus far in June 2014, the president has attended multiple fundraisers in California, Massachusetts, and New York. At these events, he and his staffers whine about being surprised by the border crisis, the VA scandal, and the Iraq takeover by Islamic radicals.

Each attendee, on average, pays $32,400 per person, if they choose to dine. Middle-class types may attend for $10,000 per person, not including dinner. The president and Democrats plan 20 or more fundraisers in coming months.

On June 17, while the Border Patrol was being deluged by an onslaught of unaccompanied, undocumented children, Obama was celebrating as “Champions of Change” 10 undocumented children who are beneficiaries of his latest immigration “Get in Free Cards”:

Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA). In 2012, DHS issued the DACA Memorandum as another catalyst for “change.” The current crisis on the Texas border is the misguided result of DACA.

The new White House spokesman, Josh Earnest, blames the tsunami of undocumented border-crossers on violence in the children’s homeland.

The Obama administration’s excuses for the tsunami are debunked by what The New York Times reported on 6/20/14 that the undocumented children are telling Border Patrol agents that they are seeking one thing — free entry into the United States. Some children did travel alone through Mexico while others had their parents, many of them undocumented aliens living and working in the United States, pay “coyotes” up to $9,000 per child smuggled into the United States.

The Obama administration appears confused by this latest immigration crisis, so they are sending lawyers to the border as an answer. One moment, the administration says that these children will not benefit from Prosecutorial Discretion and the DACA memoranda. Then, they admit that the federal government cannot send infants and small children back to their homeland.

Most of these children have not had immunizations and are health risks for communicable diseases, such as tuberculosis, malaria, dengue fever, measles, etc. In disregard for the health of the nation, these unimmunized children are being flown to points throughout the United States apparently without alerting state governments. The governor of Massachusetts, who is a friend of Obama, claims that he was not told about the transfer of hundreds of these children to his state.

In addition, an unknown number of teenage border-crossers are members of international criminal gangs. For them, the court-date papers they receive serve as “flight letters.” These undocumented young criminals never voluntarily appear for court hearings. Once they are released from U.S. Border Patrol custody, they are gone.

Some locales in the United States are refusing to accept these undocumented minors, citing health, crime, and financial concerns as did a town in Virginia.

What are the costs to U.S. taxpayers of Obama’s “Children’s Crusade”? The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has announced emergency funds of $350 million for residential care for some of these children. HHS already has issued instructions that caretakers must provide “family planning services” for the “Crusaders” and must be sensitive to sexual orientation and gender identity matters.

To stop or slow the flow of these undocumented immigrants, the White House has announced $254.6 million in new aid for Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador, plus $130 million and $161.5 million for their at-risk youth. In turn, these countries demand that the United States not ship their children back home. Therefore, the United States announced another $93 million to these nations, as a slush fund, but only if thechildren are allowed to return to their homeland.

These initial costs for the next six months will approach $1 billion, but do not cover welfare or education costs for the new immigrants.

Immigration advocates and Democrats are considering designating these children as “refugees” or “asylum-seekers.” The children do not qualify for either status. Obama has bragged that he has “a phone and a pen” meaning that he can do by executive fiat as he pleases. Watch for the president to grant the children refugee or asylum status or some special status.

This “humanitarian crisis” of undocumented children border-crossers was crafted by Obama and open-border advocates.

As President Obama whines and dines in fundraising mode, the tsunami will continue to overwhelm the border.

James H. Walsh was associate general counsel with the U.S. Department of Justice Immigration and Naturalization Service from 1983 to 1994. Read more reports from James Walsh — Click Here Now.